U.S. Congressman Chris Gibson of New York, a decorated Army war veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, shared his vision and proposed strategy to counter national security threats, at a Daemen College Distinguished Leaders Lecture Series event held on Sept. 22.

Speaking before the Daemen community, area business leaders, veterans and members of the military, Gibson addressed the need to “secure our rights as a social contract, and to pursue an international policy of peace through strength and deterrence. We need to give our military and diplomatic leaders the tools to help shape policy in the Middle East and other trouble spots that threaten the United States.”

He added, “We have work to do to obtain deterrence and peace through strength. The men and women serving in our nation’s Armed Forces don’t expect much, but the least we can give them is the resources to do their critically important jobs.”

Quoting Benjamin Franklin, Gibson pointed to the need to link liberty with security. “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and will lose both,” he said.

Gibson went on to stress the importance of bolstering our diplomatic corps by having strength and deterrence in place to affect policy in Syria, Russia and other parts of the Middle East. He also emphasized the importance of mental health support services for the nation’s military personnel as a key component in new military strategic plans going forward.

“Leading with diplomacy is extremely important, but we need to be prepared to take unilateral action if there is a direct threat to our citizens here at home,” said Gibson, as he concluded his discussion.

Following the lecture, Gibson responded to questions from the audience on several current international security issues, including the Iran nuclear agreement, American foreign policy in the Middle East, rebels fighting the administration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the recent Russian military buildup in Syria, and the ongoing threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).